Receive the latest local updates in your inbox

The American Cancer Society is looking for volunteers for the third nationwide grassroots study to help prevent cancer (Published Monday, Sep 24, 2012)

The American Cancer Society is now preparing to undertake the largest nationwide study it's ever done in the hopes of preventing cancer in the future.

It's called Cancer Prevention Study 3.

American Cancer Society Cancer Study

The American Cancer Society is looking for volunteers for the third nationwide grassroots study to help prevent cancer (Published Monday, Sep 24, 2012)

Here in Connecticut, workers at the organization's headquarters in Rocky Hill spent Monday getting their final training from one of the national study coordinators. Later this week, the workers will head out to recruit volunteers at five Hartford-area businesses.

"I don't want my children to ever hear, 'You have cancer,'" said Juana Adams of Manchester, who works for the American Cancer Society and plans to enroll in the study. "That can be the difference between finding a cure, finding a preventative measure to cancer."

Nationwide, half of men and one-third of women will develop cancer at some point in their lives, according to the organization.

That's why the American Cancer Society is launching the new study.

Across the country, the organization is hoping to recruit 300,000 adults between the ages of 30 and 65 who have never been diagnosed with cancer.

In Connecticut, they're hoping to sign up 560 people this week.

The American Cancer Society will hold recruitment drives at the Wheeler Regional YMCA in Plainville, the Downtown YMCA in Hartford, St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, and UTC Aerospace Systems in Windsor Locks.

The study will look at the behavioral, genetic, and environmental factors that can either cause or prevent cancer, said Ebonee Pope, the national study coordinator who trained the workers in Rocky Hill.

You can find more information about the study on the American Cancer Society's website, fill out pre-registration forms, and make an appointment for one of those clinics.

When you show up to register for the study, you should be prepared to fill out some additional paperwork, get your waist measured, and provide a blood sample. It should only take about 30 minutes, according to the organization.

The first nationwide study started in 1952. The second one began in 1982 and is still underway.

"The first two studies there were enormous findings, the link between tobacco and lung cancer, the link between second hand smoke and lung cancer," said Michelle Wolf, the state Vice President of Health Initiatives for the American Cancer Society. "Who knows what this study will find."

Nationwide recruitment for participants in this latest study continues through next year.